Say No More

by Rose, Karen

  ‘Harry, Harry, Harry. I think it has everything to do with you. And I know you took the original key from her a few years ago.’

  Ephraim licked his lips nervously. ‘The original?’ he asked carefully.

  ‘The original,’ the doctor confirmed, his tone smug. ‘I made the copy for her. Before you took the original, obviously.’

  Ephraim’s blood ran cold. This man knew too much. ‘You’re lying.’

  ‘I think you know that I’m not.’ Burkett spoke calmly. Confidently.

  Ephraim wanted to break his fucking neck. ‘Why did she make a copy?’

  ‘Because she was becoming forgetful and was afraid she’d lose the original. I didn’t realize at the time that the key had belonged to you.’

  ‘Get to the fucking point,’ Ephraim growled. ‘What do you want?’ Because if his mother had given the copy to Mercy, there was nothing the doctor could do to him that was worse than what Mercy could do.

  ‘My goodness. No need to be so hostile. The point is, I made more than one copy.’

  Shit. Shit, damn, and fuck. Ephraim took a deep breath, forced his voice to be as calm as Burkett’s as he adjusted his plans to include silencing this doctor who knew too much. ‘Still not making a point, Doc.’

  ‘My point is that now I realize that the original key belonged to you, I thought you might like the other copy I made.’

  A shiver of relief loosened some of Ephraim’s dread. This would be about money, then. ‘What do you want?’

  ‘I think that’s a conversation best had in person. When can I expect you?’

  When can I expect you? Seriously? Could Burkett truly believe that Ephraim would negotiate with him? Didn’t he watch the goddamn news? Was the man truly that stupid? Did he think Ephraim was that stupid?

  Not that it mattered what Burkett thought. It also didn’t matter if Burkett really had a key to his safe-deposit box or not. Nor did it matter if Ephraim got the damn key back. It only mattered that Burkett wasn’t allowed to use it or tell anyone else about it. And, should the good doctor die tonight, Ephraim would have accomplished both goals.

  Santa Rosa was only a few hours away. ‘I’ll be by your house by ten at the latest.’ With my gun loaded and ready to shoot your fucking head off.

  ‘See you then, Harry.’

  Twenty-six

  Granite Bay, California

  Tuesday, 18 April, 7.05 P.M.

  ‘DJ was talking about me?’ Mercy asked. It wasn’t unexpected after their trip to Snowbush, but hearing Amos confirm it was disconcerting.

  ‘It was likely a call from the owner of the Snowbush general store,’ Molina told them. ‘The time frame matches up to the call you saw the man make after you all left the store on Monday.’

  ‘He was telling DJ that I was in the store,’ Mercy said. ‘So it was DJ who killed Ginger and the store owner. And his wife?’

  Molina shrugged. ‘Maybe. We don’t have direct evidence yet, but the facts line up to give us a helluva lot of circumstantial evidence. Mr Terrill has accurately described Ginger’s house as their first stop after leaving the compound.’

  ‘Abigail and I were hiding in the bed of DJ’s truck, under a blanket,’ Amos explained. ‘That’s how we got out. DJ got out of the truck and went into the house. After he came out, he drove away in another car. That’s when I figured it was safe enough to poke my head out. I got a quick glimpse of the house, but I was really checking for DJ. He was gone, so I took the truck and drove away as fast as I could go. I didn’t know he was going to kill anyone,’ he added, looking at Gideon. ‘I promise you that.’

  ‘I believe you,’ Gideon said. He turned to Molina. ‘You think that DJ Belmont killed Ginger from the general store?’

  ‘It makes sense,’ Molina said. ‘DJ Belmont was a wild card we weren’t expecting.’

  ‘That’s for sure,’ Gideon muttered, then returned his attention to Amos. ‘You heard DJ mention Mercy’s name when you were still in Eden?’

  Amos nodded, his expression still a bit stunned. ‘I followed him because he’d just rejected my request to accompany him into town. I was trying to find a way to smuggle Abigail out, but I couldn’t do that unless I could go with her. He didn’t outright reject me, but I knew that’s what he meant. I’d been wondering who was in on the lies and I figured DJ had to be, too. But I still couldn’t believe my ears when he said Mercy’s name. Neither could DJ, I think. When the person on the other end of the call mentioned her, DJ went pale as a ghost. He was really scared. All this time I thought she was dead. I think DJ did too, based on his surprise. He didn’t bring back a body for you, Mercy. He told us that he had to bury you in the forest so that he could look for your mother. He was afraid the animals would attack him if he carried your remains.’

  ‘So at least they didn’t kill anyone to pass off as me,’ Mercy said quietly. ‘They did that for Gideon and Eileen. Maybe others.’

  ‘A few others,’ Amos said sadly. ‘I see that now. I’ve been wondering if anything I’ve been told for thirty years was truth. But all I knew when I heard DJ say your name was that I had to get out. To warn you. And to save Abigail.’

  ‘How did you end up in the back of DJ’s truck?’ Rafe asked.

  ‘I faked being sick to give an excuse not to leave my hut for the next day, so no one would look for us. Then I cut down a tree to block the road and waited with Abigail. I’d heard DJ say he’d be “there” tonight, so I knew that was my chance. When he stopped to move the tree, Abigail and I hid in the truck bed. We stopped at a house. I didn’t get out of the truck bed until I heard DJ driving away in another car. So I jumped out and took the truck.’ He glanced at Gideon. ‘If I’d known that he’d stopped to kidnap and kill that poor young woman, I would have found a way to tell someone.’

  ‘I know,’ Gideon said softly. ‘I believe you. What happened after you drove away in the truck?’

  ‘I drove. Just . . . drove. I knew we’d come from the north, so I went south and didn’t stop until I got to Reno.’ His lips quirked up. ‘Everything looked different, except for McDonald’s, so we stopped there.’

  ‘Good old golden arches,’ Rafe murmured. ‘They’ll be around a thousand years from now. How did you contact my mother?’

  ‘I didn’t, not right away. I met a lady at McDonald’s who thought I was Amish. She took me to the public library after her shift. Her name is Edie. She was so kind. She showed me how to use the computer at the library and . . . well, it was a lot. I still don’t know what to think about your Internet. I mainly focused on news stories about you, Mercy. But I read that you were alive too, Gideon, and . . .’ He blew out a breath. ‘It was like a gift. Of course, the other articles weren’t so precious. I saw that Ephraim had tried to take you at the airport.’ He leaned around Mercy to smile at Rafe. ‘Thank you for rescuing her. My heart nearly stopped when I saw the film online.’

  ‘I could have done nothing else,’ Rafe said simply.

  ‘I still owe you a great deal. Anyway, Edie wouldn’t let me read one of the articles. She said it was “Internet trash.” But she did let me see the second article written by Jeff Bunker. She showed me how to email him.’

  Irina picked up the story. ‘When Jeff saw the email, he called the house and spoke to Zoya, who contacted me. I was already in Reno, with Sasha and Erin at the hospital just a few miles away from the library. We got there before the FBI did, which was a good thing.’ She gave Molina an accusing look. ‘Those agents wanted to arrest him!’

  ‘Jeff had forwarded Amos’s email to me, too,’ Molina said. ‘I sent local field agents to check it out. Edie, the woman who wrote the email, had left a phone number for the library. I didn’t tell them to arrest him,’ she added, aggrieved. ‘I said for them to bring him in for questioning. Which they did.’

  ‘Irina insisted she ride with us,’ Amos said with a grateful smile. ‘It was less
scary that way, to be sure.’

  Rafe frowned. ‘Where’s Sasha?’

  ‘She stayed at the hospital with Erin,’ Irina said. ‘She’ll drive them both home tomorrow in my car. It’s all fine, Raphael. Everything is fine.’

  ‘Except that now both DJ and Ephraim are after Mercy,’ Gideon said with a sigh. ‘DJ wants to cover up his lie and Ephraim . . . Hell, he could just want her because she got away.’

  ‘Or,’ Mercy added, ‘if DJ was that surprised that I was still alive, he must have thought I died in that parking lot at the Redding bus terminal. DJ is Pastor’s favorite. Bringing me back to Eden would allow Ephraim to prove that DJ had lied. Ephraim could usurp DJ’s place as favorite.’

  ‘Which makes him even more determined,’ Gideon said grimly.

  ‘And dangerous,’ Rafe added, very quietly.

  ‘So, things are not so fine,’ Irina acknowledged with a sigh. ‘But we are all here and safe, yes?’

  ‘Yes,’ Mercy told her. ‘We are all here and we are all safe.’ She held on to Amos’s hand, pushing her fear away for the moment. She didn’t shove it into the box in her mind, but she was able to set it aside to focus on the stepfather she’d missed so much. ‘I bought one of your pieces yesterday. At the general store in Snowbush.’

  ‘The jewelry box.’ Amos nodded, his smile almost bashful. ‘DJ said so on that call to the store owner.’

  ‘“Surely Goodness and Mercy”,’ Mercy murmured. ‘I couldn’t believe my eyes.’

  ‘I carved it into all of my larger pieces,’ Amos said. ‘It was the only way I could think of to remember you.’

  Mercy gripped Amos’s hand tightly. ‘I remember how you used to sing to me. I tried to get more information about you. About Eden. But all my questions got poor Ginger killed. We have to find them – DJ and Ephraim. We have to stop them.’

  ‘Do you know where Eden is right now?’ Gideon asked. ‘I’ve been searching for it for so long.’

  Amos shook his head. ‘I know it’s near a network of caves and tunnels. I know it’s north of Snowbush by a few hours. I know we’ve stayed there once before. Pastor chose it because winter was upon us on the last move and it would provide us with adequate shelter. But I don’t know anything else. It was a valley. No matter how high I climbed, I could never get a sense for where we were. And I tried, please believe me, I tried. But as you will remember, even leaving the compound is forbidden in Eden, so exploring is nearly impossible. I got special permission because I needed to find the best sources of wood, but I could never be gone too long or be sure I wasn’t being watched.’

  ‘I believe you,’ Gideon said again.

  ‘We do know another thing, thanks to Mr Terrill,’ Molina said, her eyes brightening. ‘On that call DJ made to the store owner, he told the guy that he didn’t have any more “product”. That they’d had to leave it behind. That was half true. We found evidence of an underground grow house at the Snowbush site. The equipment was gone, but a few spores had sprouted in the dirt they left behind. Now that we know that they’re selling psilocybin, we can listen and watch for new suppliers to that geographical area.’

  ‘Shrooms?’ Mercy turned to Rafe. ‘That’s their new cash crop?’

  ‘New cash crop?’ Amos asked, stunned. ‘You knew that the Elders were selling drugs? How?’

  ‘I remembered that the healers had pot for pain,’ Mercy said. ‘And I remember the field of poppies that we kids weren’t allowed to go to.’

  Amos sat back, looking drained. ‘Poppies? For opium. Dear God.’

  ‘Heroin, most likely,’ Gideon said.

  ‘You took Mercy’s punishment for going to the poppy field,’ Amos whispered. ‘They put you in the box for days.’

  Gideon nodded. ‘But you offered to take my place.’

  Mercy stared. ‘He did? But you took my place, Gideon.’

  Gideon made a pained face at the memory. ‘When Amos heard what had happened, he ran in and said he’d go in the box for us. But I think Edward McPhearson wanted me to be weak. Then I couldn’t fight him when he . . . you know.’

  Amos slowly raised his hand to his mouth. ‘Oh dear God. You’re right. I didn’t know it then. I didn’t have a concept of that. I was raised in the church. Nobody spoke of boys being hurt like that. But you did fight back,’ he said, his jaw rigid. ‘You fought back and you saved yourself. You killed McPhearson and I’m glad you did.’

  He startled when Gideon laid his hand on Amos’s arm. Gideon looked kind of surprised too, Mercy thought. ‘You took me out to Waylon’s truck, didn’t you?’ he asked. ‘Mama begged you to help and you did.’

  Amos looked away, ashamed. ‘Yeah.’

  Mercy’s mouth fell open. ‘You did? You told me that he’d run away.’

  ‘Because I thought he had. On the truck.’

  Mercy shook her head. ‘No. You said he was lazy and that’s why he ran away.’

  Amos looked up suddenly, his eyes glassy with tears. ‘Because once Waylon brought back his body, I was afraid of what they’d do to you,’ he whispered. ‘Ephraim took your mother away. I tried to get her out. I offered to leave with her, but she was afraid of what they’d do to you if we got caught. And then when you were twelve, he took you, too. For what it’s worth, I truly thought Gideon had died. When Waylon brought his body back, I thought it was him. I didn’t lie to you about that.’

  ‘You offered to get Mama out?’ She whispered it because her throat suddenly hurt too much to speak.

  Amos nodded miserably. ‘She said no. She was so afraid of Ephraim.’

  ‘But you helped her get me out,’ Gideon said quietly. ‘I thought I’d dreamed that.’

  ‘I should have tried harder,’ Amos hissed. ‘I should have dragged your mother away. I should have tried harder.’

  ‘Yeah, you should have,’ Gideon agreed wearily. ‘But you did try. You tried to keep Mercy away from Ephraim. You tried to help Eileen. And you took a lot of risk to warn Mercy. You could have done more, but you did do something.’

  ‘I can’t ask you to forgive me,’ Amos said, so quietly that even sitting next to him, Mercy could barely hear his words. ‘I don’t deserve it. I was weak and I believed blindly. And you both suffered.’

  ‘I’m not going to argue whether you were weak or strong,’ Gideon said. ‘But, for whatever it’s worth, I do forgive you.’

  Mercy had to clear her throat before she could trust her voice not to break. ‘Same here.’

  ‘Papa?’

  Everyone turned to the little girl standing in the doorway. Zoya and Jeff Bunker stood behind her. ‘I tried to get her to watch a movie,’ Zoya said, ‘but she was afraid that Gideon was being mean to her papa. If it’s all right with you, we’ll go back to Dad’s office. Jeff’s mom is waiting and Dad’s got the movie on pause. It’s Mulan. Jeff’s never seen it.’ Without waiting for a reply, the two teenagers left.

  Behind her, Rafe sighed. ‘Can I still hate him?’

  ‘I don’t think so,’ Mercy murmured. ‘Abigail? You can come sit with us if you want to. We’re not being mean to your papa.’

  Amos smiled sadly at Abigail. ‘Gideon’s not mean at all. He’s kinder than I deserve. Come.’

  Abigail climbed into his lap, staring Gideon down until Daisy chuckled. ‘Tell her you’re sorry for being mean to her daddy, Gideon.’

  ‘I am very sorry,’ Gideon said obediently.

  Abigail lifted her chin. ‘You should be. He has your picture and everything.’ She patted Amos’s shirt pocket. ‘In here.’

  Amos drew three faded Polaroid photos from his shirt pocket and put them on the table.

  It took Mercy a moment to realize what she was looking at. A little boy, about six, looking so serious. A chubby-cheeked girl, toddler age. And a woman smiling brilliantly. ‘It’s us.’ Her gaze jerked up to meet Gideon’s. ‘It’s us. And Mama.’ />
  ‘Oh,’ Daisy breathed. ‘Gideon, look at you.’

  ‘You were adorable,’ Rafe said, putting his hand at the small of Mercy’s back.

  But Mercy and Gideon only had eyes for the picture of their mother. She wore a huge smile, like she’d been laughing. Mercy shuddered out a breath. ‘I almost forgot what she looked like.’

  Gideon reached for the Polaroid but jerked his hand back, afraid to touch it. ‘Me too.’

  Mama’s so happy. ‘I have her locket, but I can’t look at that picture. Ephraim’s in it.’ And Mama wasn’t happy after that, ever again.

  Gideon didn’t say a word, but the look they shared said enough. Then Mercy nearly cried again when Gideon reached across the table to grip her hand in his, then took Amos’s hand with the other. Mercy completed the circle, taking Amos’s other hand, and she hoped he could understand what they couldn’t find the words to say.

  Thank you. Welcome home.

  Amos’s eyes grew shiny and then he was crying openly, which set off Mercy’s tears. Gideon didn’t cry, but his lips pursed hard, the muscle twitching in his cheek as he fought to keep his composure. Others around the table weren’t as successful at keeping their emotions in check. Mercy could hear their sniffles and was unsurprised to see Farrah leaning into André’s shoulder, her shoulders shaking with sobs. André’s eyes were also suspiciously bright, which also wasn’t a surprise. Mercy had observed his tender heart many times over the years and felt her own heart flood with gratitude that her best friend had found such a good man.

  Little Abigail seemed to understand that their tears were happy ones. She smiled sweetly as she patted Amos’s cheeks with a tissue that Irina tucked into her small hand – after wiping her own eyes, of course.

  Abigail beamed proudly. ‘Aren’t you glad that I didn’t let you forget the pictures?’

  Amos laughed. ‘I am, Abi-girl. I am so glad.’